


Before the Darkness Falls

by Aklya



Series: Lost Beauty in the Dawn [1]
Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls Online
Genre: May Be Slow to Update, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, tw: abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:40:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29937018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aklya/pseuds/Aklya
Summary: As the Three Banners War looms on the horizon, the world holds in a collective breath. Heroes will come, though perhaps hero may not always be the word to use for these figures. Tragedy and violence haunt Tamriel as they always have, and no one knows that more than those who will be called to save her from the Planemeld.Four souls, tied together by a fate they can barely begin to comprehend, will one day save all of Nirn. But that day will come later. The Anchors have not yet dropped. Cyrodell is still held by an emperor.A gifted Breton urchin studies under a court mage.A Dunmer in Skyrim seeks to find themselves.A Bosmer in Valenwood seeks retribution.And an ancient Oathbreaker tries to survive the shifting world.
Series: Lost Beauty in the Dawn [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2201652





	Before the Darkness Falls

The book sat open on the ground before Sylvara, filled with studies of the intricate profanities of magic. No priest of the Divines would allow this book to circulate, but even with the law on their side, a girl of fourteen winters had managed to secure a partial copy of  _ On Necromancy _ . If she was being honest, Sylvara wasn’t sure why she had put so much effort into the scrap. Just getting her hands on it had cost her more than half her monthly stipend to live on as a court mage’s apprentice, more money than most street kids like her saw in their lives. Worst of all, it didn’t even say  _ how _ to do anything, just a snippet of warning on what kind of body to use. Though this information on how long a soul could persist after death... Picking up a soul gem off the floor, she felt the weight of the soul inside. White souls tended to leave quickly, driven from a corpse in seconds or even minutes. No wonder the Midnight Union had such a lucrative business on black soul gems. If you were willing...

Shaking her head, she set the gem down and closed the book, picking it up as she rose. Two steps brought her to the shelf as the door opened. “Sylvara? Are you... What book is that?” The man’s voice boomed as Dempsey Brenner, an older Breton at least four times Sylvara’s age, he dressed like what every child’s story said a court wizard should, dark flowing robes, unkempt hair, and a staff perpetually at his side. Crossing the room, he snatched the book away from his apprentice and stared at the cover. If he noticed how her back stiffened straight as a Bosmer’s arrow, he didn’t acknowledge it. 

“Master, I...” Sylvara tried to speak, only to stagger back as her master’s hand struck her. It never really hurt less.

“Foolish girl! You’re so eager for any scrap of knowledge that you’d sell your own soul for it!” Dempsey roared, stalking towards her. Even her untrained senses could feel the magicka he was drawing to himself. “I thought better of you, child. Clearly, I’ve been too lax.” No more warning or hesitation crossed his features as he lunged at her, one hand wrapping around her throat as the other grasped the left side of her face, igniting itself in flame.

Pain coursed through her. There was nothing else as skin boiled and flesh melted from her face. Instinct threw her hand to the floor and wrapped her hand in a death-grip on something round. Desperation channeled magicka into it until it burned her hand. Determination pushed it further, further, until it shattered.

**_KRAC-OOM!_ **

The soul gem erupted in a blinding flash, shards spraying from it, and the concussive blast sending Sylvara sprawling. Ringing. All she could hear was ringing. The wall was gone. She could get out...

Glancing back, she saw Dempsey’s limp form against the far wall. Good. He couldn’t follow her. She had time to crawl away before the guard got here. She had to get away. Dempsey would look for her. No way he’d forget. She had to get away...

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is a little short, but don't worry, Syl will be getting another chapter later in this work. She'll also have a much bigger part to play when we get to the actual Planemeld and the aftermath. As for Dempsey, well... He'll get what's coming to him.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this piece! Please let me know how you liked it, or leave a kudos if you don't want to type (I know I tend to do that more than commenting). More chapters will come next week, shifting east to the Dunmeri hero of the Pact. I will see you all then!


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